Can the Queen Find Justice: Reflections on Tarot
As October unfolds before us, I find myself reflecting on my card of the month, Justice, my card of the year, Queen of swords, their similarities, and their poignancy to our current collective social consciousness.
The divine female in each card holds her sword balanced in an upright position connecting heaven and earth with a piercing steadiness… ahimsa/non violence perhaps. My mindfulness practice has helped me to rest into ahimsa when the stakes are lower and the emotion rolls through more easily. But these are not those times. Justice on the human plane speaks of power and righteousness, the dynamics we see playing out on our national stage and the dynamics that make my blood boil. When I allow myself to sit behind the eyes of what Justice must see… sitting steadily witnessing the injustice… holding the duality of ones determination to express ones truth, it is at this point I feel my body wanting to explode in rage.
Watching the congressional hearings unearthed the deep grief that has been hidden beneath the carefully draped robe of Justice. Memories of my innocent young body frozen in fear surrounded by darkness and confusion. My mental energy holds no clue for me in these moments. Yet my body holds steady… perfecting the ability to breathe without sound or motion…bringing all my attention to my hearing… listening into the silence for a clue. The sea of deadpan faces in this week’s hearings, perched above the brave yet vulnerable female sharing her deepest pain is returning me to my frozen body…. yet my spiritual practice has reminded me to breathe. With each breath comes an eruption of confusion and betrayal. My nakedness floods over me. Her story is my story. The details are different… the details don’t really matter anymore. It is in the response of those holding court that remains the same. It is the cold and distant looks on their fearful faces that rattle me now. How does Justice weigh in on the evidence if more than half of the testimony is discarded to the floor in hopes of being swept yet again under the familial rug?
My practice is to continue breathing. My body is softening around it’s fear of not knowing. As I rest into the collective consciousness, I feel the deep, trapped emotions of us all beginning to seep into our legal system. It will not continue without more mess and more pain, but the boil of power has been lanced. Both these high arcana cards lay before me with a similar message. The mind when held high above the clouds of emotional confusion can access the justice to healing these injustices. I recognize my practice to bear witness to it all.
